I don't know if it's okay to respond to an old post- so let me know if I should do it differently-

John, I just made my first Queso Fresco, using same recipe (FiasCo Farms)- I got probably similar outcomes to yours (except your curds look so much nicer...)- seems tasty but a little too salty.

Question: when draining curds, does the recipe just mean to drain the whey to the level of the curds before letting sit at 100F for 10 min? I didn't understand that from the recipe- and drained all the whey off in a colander, then held the dry curds at about 96F for 10 min, before pressing. Also- you mention bailing whey- do you just siphon whey off (instead of pouring all curds and whey thru a lined colander, which seems kind of tough on the curds...)? Learning the techniques- thanks for any insights, sorry to revive an old post...

Hi Scarlet, have to dig back through my memory, others also welcome to respond!

Drain curds: I think sh means drain all whey, she's using a double boiler to heat the milk and keep the drained curds warm.

Whey removal: I just bail with a 2-3 cup device and pour down kitchen sink drain through a sieve to catch any small curd pieces. I've tried pouring all into a vegetable colander before but found the gaps to be too wide and I lose a lot of curds, and if I pour into a cloth lined or tighter weave sieve then the curds on the outside dehydrate and significantly reduce the whey in middle to drain, so I like most here find whey removal from vat easier. Some people use a syphon tube, search on syphon and you should find a few hits.

Hey, thanks John. when I saw your pics, it looked like perhaps you only drained down to the level of the curd- but I guess that is residual whey in there, just like I had. Yours is a really nice looking cheese!!

I will definitely learn about siphoning off whey, and also curd cutting this week. Got some ideas about a curd knife that will work for me based on various posts here....

I look forward to making your recipe for my 2nd cheese. My first was a queso fresco from the recipe on the wiki at this site, but it did not turn out very well. Not sure if it was me, my ingredients (a little old) or the recipe. My curds only half formed even after 90min after rennet addition. I have ordered some fresher ingredients and plan to try your recipe soon.

Also where did you get your hoop? Is it a DIY sort of deal, or did you buy it somewhere? It's hard to tell from the pics. If you did make it, did you follow a write up somewhere or come up with it yourself? Thanks for your recipe and detailed description of technique. It's posters like you who really help new cheese makers.

Hi Dustin, sounds like a coagulation issue, recommend read our Wiki: Coagulation Defects page, also have a read through the STANDARD METHODS - Making Cheese, Coagulation Board for some ideas.

the hoop in the pictures above is DIY from 6" diameter PVC pipe drilled with holes and a base and follower made out of polyethylene cutting board, I since upgraded to purpose made Kadova Brand molds. some more pics on our [urlhttp://cheeseforum.org/articles/wiki-hoops-molds/]Wiki: Hoops & Molds[/url] article. If you have a mooch through the EQUIPMENT - Forming Cheese Board you'll find lots of homemade hoop ideas. Thanks for the kudos, just gave you a Thumbs Up (cheese) .